Artist: Amy AngelineAlbum: “Amy Angeline”CD Review:
When I began listening, I was struck by a similarity to Natalie Merchant here in the quality in Angeline’s voice. That’s probably why some of the songs remind me of early 10,000 Maniacs: accessible pop melodies that aren’t too predictable.

Angeline steers clear of their sometimes very dark and very heavy material and keeps it just a bit lighter. Topics range from love and loss to a bluesy number about her ‘gas station man’.

One of the strongest songs is “Its Gonna Rain Soon”. This song is one of the more interesting melodically and lyrically and creates a mood of emotional uncertainty very well. Another one I like is “Candy Cigarettes”, which is inspired by the timing of her being laid off coinciding with her quitting cigarettes. I love the imagery of the line “Spend my days in my pajamas smoking candy cigarettes”

Mostly the songs are acoustic guitar based although there are some nice string and piano arrangements also. Matt Fink adds some piano and is a co-writer on one of the pieces including “Light the Candles”. The recording quality is top notch and the supporting players are quite good. I look forward to hearing more of her work as she grows and stretches as a songwriter.